Once upon a time, Apple was the company held up as a shining example of successful corporate secrecy. That time has passed; there wasn't a damn thing about the company's pronouncements at its iPhone 5 launch event that surprised anyone, with the entirely predictable result that People On The Internet, having gorged themselves on rumour sites and leaked photos for months, were disappointed not to be surprised.

Indeed, People On The Internet don't seem to like the iPhone 5 much. It's an evolutionary development, they say, with nothing exciting to offer. Apple has lost its mojo. Android, Windows Phone or even BlackBerry 10 (for the truly devoted faithful) are about to rise up and mop the floor with Cupertino's efforts. Any minute now. Just you wait.

"Both consumers and content creators live in an iOS dominated world. The oft-touted Android activation figures and handset sales are almost irrelevant"

Dear People On The Internet - you're utterly irrelevant, out of touch, and seemingly possessed of absolutely terrible memories to complement your weakened powers of deduction. Remember when you passed precisely the same judgment on the iPhone 4S? Remember when it then went on to become the fastest-selling and most profitable phone handset of all time? Remember that? Tell me, oh wise Internet People, what is it about your logic that's different this time around?

Of course, it's entirely plausible that Apple will eventually be overtaken as the most important handset (and tablet) manufacturer in the world, but that's not going to happen because a handful of extremely vocal tech types are disappointed by the firm's offerings. For that to happen, someone is going to have to do to Apple what Apple did to Nokia, Motorola and Blackberry five years ago; they're going to have to come up with something that's genuinely, eye-catchingly different and better to Apple's phones. Until then, Apple will continue to rule the roost - not in terms of overall installed base, because cheap and far from cheerful Android handsets are swarming into the low end of the market, but certainly in terms of profitability, and absolutely in terms of relevance to content creators.

That's not to say that Android hasn't become an important platform - it has, absolutely. Windows Phone 8 also has the potential to be an important platform, and is incredibly laudable for being an innovative and interesting mobile computing experience - especially in light of Android's rather shameless replication of iOS, WP8 proves that there's both room and necessity for innovation. Whether the stylish Lumia phones which are flagships for the OS can thrive in the market in spite of Nokia's weak launch and sales execution is another question entirely, but it would be good to see the platform become a solid competitor.

Regardless, though, we - meaning both consumers and content creators - live in an iOS dominated world. The oft-touted Android activation figures and handset sales are almost irrelevant, since they cover such a wide variety of devices - many of which are bargain basement handsets that are unlikely ever to be used to make purchases from any app store. All the Android devices in the world don't matter to a game creator if few people are using them to buy stuff - whereas Apple's effective cornering of most of the high end of the market, along with its deeply integrated App Store infrastructure, means its consumers tend to be big spenders.

"The new layout means that the unobscured screen real estate between the player's fingers has just grown significantly. That's meaningful for games in the sense of being a long-term solid improvement to the iOS gaming experience"

It's in that context that Apple's announcements must be considered. iPhone 5 will probably break the sales records of the 4S, and will certainly become the primary platform for consumers spending money on mobile games (paid, F2P or otherwise) in the coming year. For anything else to happen, either a competitor would need to have a markedly more fantastic device (which isn't the case, and the first person to post a comment trying to prove otherwise with a barrage of technical specifications gets a time-out on the naughty step to think about exactly how many consumers give a damn about mobile phone tech specs), or Apple would need to have dropped the ball dramatically with iPhone 5. They didn't. They delivered a device that's got a better, larger screen in a more popular form factor, a better camera, better battery life and support for next-gen mobile networks, not to mention being thinner and lighter. They may not have thrilled you deeply, but they didn't drop the ball by any means.

In fact, in the midst of all the sighs of exaggerated disappointment, there are a handful of things about the new device which are of potential interest to game developers (and gamers) and are worth discussing. The first is the new screen format, which retains backwards compatibility with existing applications but offers an interesting new layout, especially for landscape-mode games. Many such games rely on players holding the device like a joypad and obscuring the sides of the screen with their fingers to use virtual buttons; the extra couple of centimetres in the new layout means that the unobscured screen real estate between the player's fingers has just grown significantly. That's meaningful for games, not in a terribly thrilling way but in the sense of being a long-term solid improvement to the iOS gaming experience.

There's also the A6 processor, which is being touted to consumers simply as "much faster" (which is about as much as most consumers give a damn regarding tech specs) and which should enable a whole new range of high quality games. However, what was really interesting was the decision to launch a new range of iPod Touch devices (the under-appreciated string to the iOS bow, and a device range that does wonders for app and game sales) using the older A5 chip architecture. What that means, alongside the retention of the iPhone 4 and 4S models as lower-cost alternatives, is that developers can be assured of meaningful installed bases of both A5-based and A6-based devices, ensuring that both are targeted by new titles - and thus legacy systems aren't left behind. It's a clever, if obvious, move.

"Apple's continuing commitment to making major game titles into centrepieces of its hardware showcase events stands in stark contrast to other players in the phone market"

Note also that games were centre stage for Apple's announcement. We all know that after initial reticence from Steve Jobs, games have become a major part of Apple's strategy - not least because they're by far the best showcase for the technological advances being made by each generation of iPhone. However, the company's continuing commitment to making major game titles into centrepieces of its hardware showcase events stands in stark contrast to other players in the phone market. Of course, it's easy for Apple; it has a huge range of fine developers to choose from, all only too happy to get cracking on pre-release hardware and prepare something excellent for launch. Regardless, the firm's commitment to iOS as a gaming platform is undeniable, and should be extremely welcome.

For the most part, the disappointment voiced by People On The Internet is down to the fact that the iPhone 5 announcement was business as usual for Apple - and in this, at least, they're quite right. It was business as usual - it's just that the business in question is the most valuable and most profitable technology company, launching a solid new iteration of the world's most successful smartphone platform. How lucky we are, to be able to be so jaded as to find that yawn-worthy! Yet as game creators or publishers, the fact that Apple has delivered a solid product once again - and one which will be even better as a game platform than its predecessors - is definitely worthy of a smidgen of happiness. The iOS / App Store ecosystem remains unrivalled as a way for creators to create and distribute mobile games - and get paid for them. When considered in that light, those who are seemingly so keen for Apple to stumble would do well to think about exactly what it is that they're wishing for, and perhaps be quietly glad that this time, at least, it hasn't come to pass.

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Yes I too don't get the logic of this article. I am disappointed in the iPhone 5 and strangely enough that does not translate into me going out and getting one. In fact it just confirmed to me that it's time to move on to a more innovative and feature rich Android alternative.

The only thing in that line-up that caught my eye was the new ipod touch range. Then they announced the prices. Now colour me skeptical but, if the new iPod Touch costs 299 as entry then what the hell would an iPad Mini have cost!

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Peter Dwyer on 13th September 2012 9:03am

Of course you're entitled to your own opinion. However, others are equally entitled to call out that opinion as being ill-conceived - hence my point about people who have spent months devouring information from rumour blogs then loudly pronouncing themselves "disappointed" at the lack of surprise, which is absolutely daft.

However, the main thrust of the article is regarding the people who are taking this beyond "I'm personally a bit disappointed" and creating two massive, ill-founded conjectures - firstly, that the vocal minority posting on the Internet have any remote relevance to the actual commercial success of these devices; secondly, that in some empirical way this represents a "failure" by Apple which will lead to it being overtaken by their personal platform of choice (usually, ironically, the shamelessly cloned Android).

Those conjectures are flat-out nonsense, and I think it's perfectly valid for a site addressed at a large number of people involved in content creation for mobile devices to make that point.

Fair enough, Rob. Personally, I can't say I've ever seen the vocal minority claim they influence the commercial success of Apple devices. If anything, precisely the opposite. They're usually complaining that no matter what Apple turns out, people will rush out and buy it, despite there being "better" alternatives.

As someone who had the 4S before getting a Galaxy S3, I can honestly say this is the first iPhone release where I've thought "I'm not remotely jealous". Android has come on in leaps and bounds, and whilst iOS might have more apps, so far all of the apps I've wanted to use are available on both. And the s3, in my opinion (and I'll accept it's just my opinion), has nothing whatsoever to fear from the new iPhone. The 4S was small and skinny, not it's just a little less small but still as skinny. Big deal.

Rob, you let your bias show with your "shamelessly cloned" comment. I think we can all see the contempt you have for android. Which is fine, but just admit it. That comment alone hints that Dave's comment above is spot on.

I think some of the disappointment came from the high regard that people have for Apple to "lead". It seemed, instead, like a steady stream of features from other phones and OSes integrated into an device which was then proclaimed, with every slide, to be revolutionary. I think it left a slightly bad taste.

I also think you do the latest releases of Android (ICS & Jelly Bean) a disservice to dismiss them as clones. They've moved far beyond their early iOS-wannabe days.

But like you say - there is a big divide from the entitled whining of tech lovers and the commercial reality. iPhone5 will sell massively -- but there is a gaping hole left open for Nokia or Samsung to produce a device which trumps the iPhone with features that may genuinely capture the public's imagination.

Fran - my contempt for Android is well-documented. There's very little cause to demand that I "admit it"! I think the latest releases of Android are at least moving beyond its roots as a desperately thrown-together clone of iOS, but anyone who denies that that's exactly how Google built the system in the early years is deluding themselves. It's only now that we're starting to see properly functional Android devices that it's sensible to recommend beyond the hobbyist / hacker market - I'd argue that the Google Nexus 7, the Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy S3 are the first Android devices ever to offer anything that's both solid to use and genuinely rivalling iOS' functionality.

(By contrast, I'm a huge fan of what Microsoft has done with Windows Phone, and wish it would have a bit more commercial success. I'd also like to see SOMEONE - perhaps one of the Android box-shifters? - pick up WebOS and run with it. To my mind, WP and WebOS are genuine attempts to do new, interesting things with mobile OS', and will force the whole sector forward through healthy competition. Simply cloning your opponent's product and offering it for free, as Google did, is the absolute opposite of that approach, and results in a stagnant market with little progress.)

That's a fair enough point Ben, but having played titles like NOVA 3 and Dead Trigger on my Nexus 7, I'd say the increased power is completely irrelevant when touch-screen controls requiring anything more complex than a solitary swipe or a press are complete arse.

In this regard it's a shame that Sony's Xperia Play wasn't successful enough to warrant a second iteration, as I'd like to try out some of these games with proper controls rather than an awkward and unsuited compromise.

Well, that's okay then. I suspect most of us read this while expecting it to be relatively impartial and unbiased. But now I know where you stand, it all seems perfectly reasonable for you to write.

I would still argue that the iPad 3 (or new iPad, whatever) is still their finest gaming platform, on account of the screen size, but fair enough.

Re who's ripped what off from who, none of the large tech companies are whiter than white. First MS was the poster child for corporate misfeasance, while Apple were the good guys. Then it became Apple the bad guys, Google the good guys. Now we're starting to head towards Google being the bad guys. The truth is they're all just as bad as each other, IMO.

having played titles like NOVA 3 and Dead Trigger on my Nexus 7, I'd say the increased power is completely irrelevant when touch-screen controls requiring anything more complex than a solitary swipe or a press are complete arse.

Absolutely. I was hoping the latest iPad would surprise everyone with that screen feedback, but it wasn't to be. Maybe the next one will. But for a lot of games, touchscreen controls just don't work. Especially on a phone screen.

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Fran Mulhern on 13th September 2012 10:16am

I actually think Apple did a great job with the iPhone 5 - and with the series so far. And consumers seem to agree.

The step from an iPhone 4S to iPhone 5 -is- fairly significant.. the 5 is thinner, has widescreen, more vibrant colours and a much faster core... then all the other outliers like the camera, Siri, sound, structure of the phone, etc. Not having NFC, sure, it seems like something they could've added - but there's undoubtedly a reason why it's not there, whether it's a cost of licensing reason (Apple could force the cost down by holding out) or a technical reason...

The whole Android vs iOS thing, by the way, reminds me of Betamax vs VHS, Spectrum vs C64, Atari ST vs Amiga, Sega vs Nintendo, Playstation vs Xbox, 3DFX vs nVidia, etc etc etc ... there's always an underdog in these stories, one that in some ways is better - but who fails ultimately because they can't quite connect all the dots cleanly enough. I know that Android phones are technically superior to iPhones - but I'll still stick with my iPhone because, well, I know I'm never going to be screaming at my iPhone wondering why something fundamental isn't quite working the way that it should...

Oh by the way, C64 was better - sorry not to be a patriot on this, it just was :-p

When I had an iPhone 3GS (which was - as a telephone - a fairly awful device), the announcement of the iPhone 4 had me dead set on shifting over to Android. It was the 4S, with its improved CPU and battery and (the key feature for me) severed dependency on iTunes that lured me back.

In Apple's tick-tock pattern of leaps and refinements, I'm more interested in the refinements.

Still I don't understand the bile that the 5 has provoked from some corners.

I think with each sequelitis of any product, expectation can be highly rampant. Seeing as Apple have previously been able to elevate itself into feverish cult status, each product release comes with its own baggage, and being able to thus manage over or under expectation to the faithful, whilst converting the non faithful has always been the challenge + politics of envy.

For us folks with the iphone 4s, there is not enough of a leap to upgrade. Whereas those with iphone 4 or new to the iphone app experience may be sufficiently tempted to go for iphone 5 and the rest is history...

I'm more wondering why this article (and any iPhone articles?) are present on this site. This is not a phone site, nor is it a "tech" site - its a dedicated games site. And this is not a dedicated gaming device - its a device that can play games (along with hundreds of other devices that can, and not mentioned... and nor should they be). Can we stick to dedicated gaming please?
(or is it the norm now for every site to comment on new Apple releases for some hopeful publicity?)

@Rob Troughton - agree yeah the call/response of this article and its comments is like a replay of the laughable fan-boyismn of the 80s. The perceived underdog machine getting stomped on by the more popular inferior machine etc. Who cares?

Rob Fahey - "I'd argue that the Google Nexus 7, the Kindle Fire and the Samsung Galaxy S3 are the first Android devices ever to offer anything that's both solid to use and genuinely rivalling iOS' functionality."

Nonsense. I've had an HTC Desire Z for almost two years now, and it's every bit as functional and "solid" as an iPhone in my experience.

It also has a better UI in my opinion, including widgets, animated wallpapers, more home screens, no need to have every single app on your home screen, even built-in ones, physical back and options buttons, and a store that doesn't kick you out to the home screen every time you buy something.

And it has a full slide out QWERTY keyboard. And I can put cheap, standard micro-SD cards in it to give me more space for apps and media without having to replace the entire phone.

That's the beauty of Android, you have more choice than just black or white and 16, 32 or 64Gb of onboard storage.

The only functionality I'm really missing from a gamer's perspective is an official or widely supported equivalent to Game Center, to handle friend lists, leaderboards, achievements and so on.

Obviously from a developer's point of view iPhone offers a lot less fragmentation and better returns, but as a user I've been very happy with Android.

I'm usually a fan of your articles Rob, but this whole piece reeked of fanboy arguments. There will always be people that criticise Apple's every move, just as Apple's fans will always criticise anything made by Microsoft and Google. Usually none of it holds any meaning other than (often blind) brand loyalty, why do we need an article complaining about it?

Michael Shamgar - And this is not a dedicated gaming device - its a device that can play games (along with hundreds of other devices that can, and not mentioned... and nor should they be). Can we stick to dedicated gaming please?

The iPhone is a dedicated phone. It does other stuff as well, but yo'll buy it because you need a phone.
PS Vota. You'll buy it because of its main function, gaming on the go/toilet whatever.
It isn't that complicated, really.

It is their best platform yet but not very innovative. I'm sure this won't really affect Apple's success with the phone, so long as the lower capacity models particularly are affordable for the average smart-phone buyer.

I do think there is a place for people to rant about what is and isn't innovative as it forces companies to change. Not always but it can work. I counted 3 or 4 major innovations in the new Nokia Lumia but not this device, which is a shame considering that people are already spelling the downfall of the Finnish company.

As for gaming. Not sure this will do a lot to further mobile gaming outside generally increasing the number of smart-phone platforms out there capable of decent gaming. But that itself isn't bad at all but little to do with the hardware or an already proven market place...

I wonder, is Nokia's lack of recent success down to them or their exclusivity to Windows Phone? I remember at the time of the announcement that they were partnering with Microsoft it was worded in such a way that suggested the deal was not fully exclusive but it would be Nokia's preferred OS. Maybe they could sling out a few Android handsets and see if the market is warmer to their efforts on that front.

Its a nice iteration of the iPhone. What exactly would be considered innovation? Like a quad-core cpu? iPhone5 uses the new ARM A15 architecture, not the age old A9s... And the first A15 on the market. Up to 2.5ghz...
Besides, its a phone. A very polished and refined one.

I don't think there's much doubt. Nokia could have easily rode on the success of Android and probably gained dominance in Windows Phone too. Elop was intent on going for one ecosystem (the obvious one) however and a lot of money and patent deals were involved in the deal. Apparently the deal and cash advance Nokia were getting from Microsoft was better than Android. Still, an approach where they had Lumia with two OS choices might have been better in terms of financial and sales success.

I think Windows Phone happens to be a nicer fit for Nokia and its so unique it makes the Lumia range seem incredibly exclusive in its interface and offering. That said, choosing Windows was always going to mean they had a mountain to climb. Hopefully sales success from Samsung's offering as well as more integration with Xbox Live and Windows 8 can help them.

I feel duty bound as, it would seem, one of the few WP users around to comment. I think that WP8 is a potential game changer across the board and the iPhone 5 with its enhancements, rather than innovations, as the big swinging dick with which it has to compete is going to help it become so.

Firstly, one of the main reasons people tend to "diss" WP is the lack of apps. Pretty soon you are going to see the most massive development force on the planet, Windows Developers, able to easily develop applications (yes, the unabbreviated form is warranted here, I feel) with true business and productivity objectives and which will be easy to deploy across all Windows 8 devices, entering the ecosystem. The rules will begin to change as to the quality and utility of applications and I believe the bar is about to be raised over the next 12 months as the Windows development community starts to get to grips with this.

The other reason people tend to look at WP and go "meh" is that they think the new interface is ugly. Well, I have to tell you that when I whip out my phone in front of both Android and iPhone users and show them it working, the response is either like the volume on an annoying radio phone in has just been muted or "meh" becomes "hmm, interesting".

The iPhone used to be different. It's still stylish but, and here's the thing, it's stale. iPhone 5 is not "New". It's just "Improved" and, generally speaking, people aren't as enamoured with Improved as they are with New.

I can tell you that I consider my Lumia to be the best phone I have used to date (and I was more than a bit of an android fan). Fast, smooth and reliable. the interface is far superior to banks of tiny icons, more readable and more relevant to the tasks I want to perform. And, from the gaming perspective, having XBOX Live sitting there on my main screen, my XBL Avatar waving at me periodically, acts as a constant reminder that the fat lady is far from finished singing. This is just the start of the second act.

Sony didn't take Microsoft seriously either.

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Charles Line on 13th September 2012 6:30pm

I'm not a smartphone user so I'll leave the dissection to others who know better. Interesting to see Gamesindustry.biz do an article that seems to be about slagging off it's readers/commenters. Don't think I've ever seen that before.

Anyways, on the subject of why the latest I-phone will still prosper I'm surprised the subject of status symbol didn't come up. Apple has for a long while had fans who see their products as a status symbol/fashion accessory. I-phone benefits over other handsets for this. I don't know how much of an effect this makes on it's success but my gut feeling is that it could be a significant factor.

I think the disappointment is mainly due to the high expectations of Apple to keep releasing things with revolutionary new features like the Retina screen. The Iphone 5 is not a revolutionary device, but it's a very well engineered evolution of the iphone, slimer, lighter, and 2x the power (though we have yet to have true CPU and GPU specs for the A6 soc).

I still own a 3GS and have been debating whether to get a Galaxy SIII, Lumina 920, or a new Iphone 5. I'm in no hurry so I wait a bit and see what people think of the Iphone 5 and Lumina before I buy. Being a techie type, I am really wanting to know if these are A15 cores and if the GPU is a Powervr 543 variant or a series 6 rogue chip. Im betting its probably a improved 543 variant but you never know.

"...many of which are bargain basement handsets that are unlikely ever to be used to make purchases from any app store." This would be a debatable statement a few years ago, but now it's just naive. Care to name a single handset in this category? If you search for the lowest possible end Android phones, you'll dozens that are 'bargain basement' yet sport fast chips, are fully featured and run the latest OS. And for that matter, the last few versions of Android have a 'deeply integrated' version of Google Play, sporting a Metro style interface similar to Win7/Win8 Phone's.

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Ethan Abramson on 13th September 2012 6:42pm

This article is really grasping at straws. The new screen format is great because you can keep designing your games at 3:2 and use the black bars to put virtual controls? Seriously? And putting an A5 in the new iPod is somehow brilliant because it means that we can be assured that there will still be people using A5? Why is that so great? Were developers were really afraid that there might not be enough people using A5? This just sounds like the rantings of a desperate fanboy.

@Dave Wolfe
I'm pretty sure you're right about the last part. It's such a cliche thing to say about an Apple/Android article, but in this case it seems pretty apparent. Looking over his strange claims about low-end Android device users being unlikely to buy apps, it looks like he might be equating Samsung with Android. Samsung has the most device sales, Android is on the most devices, and it's well known that Apple's Samsung lawsuits are a proxy attack on Google. It seems likely that he just conflated all that into a notion that Android's numbers don't matter, which is exactly what Apple's PR wants people to think. Score one for Apple's spin machine.

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Ethan Abramson on 13th September 2012 7:57pm

Im not disappointed in the iPhone as I've never been a fan of Apple and their blatant "Steal and patent" stratergy ever since Xerox and suing Microsoft. Then when they took Linux - skinned it and then sold it as "their" operating system- NERD RAGE!

Im disappointed in gi.biz however - This article is blatantly biased and Rob has proven he has not researched the development of Android by stating it is a copy of iOS.

I do wonder if the iPhone love affair is endemic in Gi.biz and Eurogamer. Android has never had an official app for either (I know this as I wrote the gi.biz app for Android before the API was switched off(first and last time im mentioning the app in the comments)) and the Eurogamer Android app is fan made as well

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Gregory Keenan on 13th September 2012 8:04pm

Like others here I really don't see the point of this article. It's neither informative nor insightful and stinks of an Apple fanboy stamping his foot because others have dared not to be impressed by the latest Apple release.

If all the competitors have left is to lower the price or to put in "more" hardware like bigger screen or more memory then they have lost the race vs. Apple already. There is more to a smartphone than technology. If they don't understand that then Apple will rule the mobile world as they do with digital music.

My actual reason for posting this comment is to ask why can there be more than 1 top post? I mean if you look through comment sections these days you have a good chance of seeing around 10 'Top comments' which of course just renders it meaningless.

1 top comment is plenty methinks.

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Darren Adams on 14th September 2012 9:42am

Well, I don't think much of this article, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the debate which has taken place in the comments. Maybe a good opportunity to ask again whether there's any chance the forum will return to the new look GamesIndustry.biz?

@ Terence I suspect with the go biz merger, it is now a games related news feed integrated with a discussions thread per article format. At least they re introduced the latest comments side panel. Hurra!

Simply put it innovation at Apple started and died with Jobs. The innovation has Android is leaps ahead of Apple, They believe that rather than change things up they would rather spend more time in the court room than the Design room. As for this article I thought FOX news was bias, this article is worse.

well i dunno about who thinks nokia is ruined, because all around i see people saying they will buy a 920 instead of iphone 5.
i like iphone5, it is a nice iteration. i hope unreal will run smoothly this time on that one, and has a somehow larger screen which is nice for games.

but as a consumer i think that what kept me back from buying a lumia 900 is there no more and the windows8 os is just SO much smoother and friendlier than iOS. Lumia 920 also supports word, excel, powerpoint etc better than any mobile os (of course) has so much better cloud features too! skydrive is simply awesome! nfc, and wireless charging! and even the cheaper 820 version does that!

so 920 and surface it is for me. (i already own the latest ipad)
as far as development goes, it will be so much easier to find windows developers, it supports directX! and it offers multiplatform support without even changing OS :) sounds like a great deal to me! the only thing i really miss is udk on wp8 :)

iphone is a very nice device and it will sell loads for sure, but i feel wp8 is goint to se much more love this time around. lets just wait and see. it would be interesting to see what happens if all these people who say they are going to buy a lumia 920 actually do! i'd say there is about 60-70% inclination to buy a lumia this time around. it used to be so much the oposite in the past.

and no stupid autocorrect to ruin your posts either! :)

Edited 1 times. Last edit by Yiannis Koumoutzelis on 14th September 2012 9:09pm

@ Rob Er... and Apple has built liberally from features they stole straight from Android, like Voice Search, multitasking, folders, and an expandable notification bar. If anything Apple is now copying far more from Android than Android is from it, as every time Android moves forward to differentiate itself further Apple pops in behind to say "we can do that to! And it tells jokes!" Similarly Apple is now well-behind on screen resolution, screen mirroring/video out to an HDTV, and of course there's still the whole "we will force you to deal with a dozen default apps you will never ever use whether you like it or not" problem.

It's great that you love iOS. It does some things really well, but pretending Android does nothing better is just ridiculously ignorant for a tech journalist. Make your preferences clear, but don't needlessly bash a platform you clearly have no understanding of at all.

PS, This article makes a lot of assumptions about sales. Yes, so far Apple seems to be able to sell water to a fish, but there's also a noticeable trend of leveling out in iOS sales. You have no more idea of what the future holds than the (other?) internet fanboys.

Also you have no idea how powerful it really is, only that Apple claims "twice as fast/powerful" which as well all know is almost always BS from any hardware manufacturer.

@Brian Smith.
It was kind of well-deserved in the past. The iPhone was revolutionary when it was first released so it was a symbol in itself. Then I found the iPhone 4's Retina display really above anything else at the time. Now, in the iPhone 5, there's really none of that, except a new connector design that forces users to buy pricey adapters, cables and renders all dedicated accessories obsolete.

You cant compare Apple's one model to a dozen android devices. And Iíve yet to see an android device that offers better pixel per inch ratio than the iphone4 or the ipad3.
The only mobile i've seen thats comparable in build quality to the iphone4/4s was the lumina. Most android phones, including the near £500 Galaxy S3 are made from cheap, flimsy plastic.

I am not sure if apple copied anything regard to multitasking. On the iOS to stop an application, you double-tap the home button select the application, touch and hold, and then press the x. On andoid, you need to go to settings menu , applications, then running services select the application, tap it, then confirm the message to stop it. Which one is the more straight forward? I am not saying the iphone5 is a breakthrough in mobile technology, but the android as an UI still lags considerably in terms of software ergonomics.
Android might be an alternative to iOS, but its not providing anything IOS does not. And the recent successfull android devices (Nexus7, Kindle) are more closed and not expandable... just like Apple's devices.

It's funny how everyone goes on about Apple's wonderful build quality yet every time I see someone with a broken phone, it's almost always an iPhone, so what a fat lot of good that build quality does you when it breaks if you so much as breathe on it.

Tom, multitasking has changed in the last few iterations of Android. On the s3, for example, you can see a list of all running programs by holding the home button for a few seconds. Then you just swipe to stop whichever ones you want.

As people have said above, Android has definitely come a long way. The s3's screen resolution is more than enough (as is the Nexus tablet, among others). And "made from flimsy plastic"? There's nothing flimsy about the s3, and I'd feel more confident about dropping that than I would about dropping an iPhone, though in an ideal world I'd drop neither;)

"Tom, multitasking has changed in the last few iterations of Android. On the s3, for example, you can see a list of all running programs by holding the home button for a few seconds. Then you just swipe to stop whichever ones you want."

Awesome, works on my xperia pro too. Going to speed things up no end. Thanks Fran, I learnt something today.

@ Tom What? The PPI of top-end Android phones and iPhone 5s and 4Ss is almost identical (316 PPI for iPhones and 306 for a Galaxy S3 or similar HD device). The big difference is those Android phones have 720p screens that are almost a whole inch larger than the iPhone 5, which btw will actually be displaying almost all video in pathetic 480p, because no one is going to make a special version of movies or video streaming apps that runs in the 640p the iPhone 5 is, while top end Android phones have access to HD streaming from video services and HD movies purchased from Google Play or Amazon, which can in turn be mirrored out to a TV.

For a videophile picking an iPhone over a good Android phone is pretty ridiculous, as you're getting a vastly inferior experience.

I am an "outed" Apple fanboy. I never was one and still hate macs for the overpriced, underperformant fashion accessories that they are. I became one when Apple made a revolutionary phone that "just worked", so my fanboyism is completely earned and not based on bias.

I hope that qualifies me to say that I'm starting to get mighty tired with Apple again. The iPhone 5 is just a point release from the 4S, and if it was software we're talking about, existing users would rightly expect this as a free maintenance upgrade.

There is no way on Earth you can show me an iPhone 4S and then point at the iPhone 5 and say "this is a new phone". They've settled into a once a year product line update but are clearly running our of ideas. Time to look at the software again fellas and try to catch Android...